From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Some Die Eloquent (Inspector Sloan, #8)

Catherine Aird

Start date: March 15, 2024

Finish date: April 5, 2024

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in the Inspector Sloan series.
[close] Next in the Inspector Sloan series.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 468 topics — 9,045 comments total

Buddy reads

* White Nights by Ann Cleeves (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 29 posts · 12 views

last updated Sep 04, 2025 12:17PM

* White Nights - SPOILER Thread - (Shetland #2) (August/Sept 25)
By Susan · 17 posts · 12 views

last updated Aug 24, 2025 11:29PM

showing 4 of 4 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Feb 24, 2024 Susan rated it it was amazing

First published in 1979 this is the eighth book in the D I Sloan series. I have to say that this series is rapidly becoming a favourite and I am so pleased that I discovered it.

D I Sloan's wife, Margaret, is heavily pregnant and there is a lot of humour as much of this book is set around the hospital, where Sloan invariably runs into those that he has arrested and poor Margaret is constantly abandoned by him as he rushes off trying to solve his latest crime.

This crime involves chemistry mistress ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2015 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing

Someone thinks Beatrice Wansdyke's death is suspicious and contacts the police. Sloan and Crosby are sent to investigate. Her GP had given a death certificate as he was satisfied she died from natural causes, and the post mortem confirms that she did but precisely why did she have a quarter of a million pounds in her bank account?

As Sloan and Crosby dig a but further it seems there is something suspicious about the death after all and her relatives come under suspicion with several of them havin ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 15, 2024 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: catherine-aird

Easily another 4 star rating for this book. I enjoyed the somewhat complicated plot, and can't help being amused by the humour of these books.
In this the police have their attention alerted by a bank. An account with them has recently received a large amount of money being deposited into the account of a lady who has now been found dead. The woman had a history of being a diabetic, but she was closely monitored by her doctor and given the appropriate amount of medicine to combat her illness. The ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2024 Susan in NC rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, kindle, my-library, detectives-buddy-read24

I always enjoy a visit with Inspector Sloan, the hapless Crosby (I swear he’s taking initiative and improving at his job, despite the jokes about him!), and the know-it-all, sarcastic Superintendent Leeyes.

This is an interesting case, as police wives help start the case and move it along. A high school chemistry teacher has apparently died from complications of her diabetes, but a former policewoman, now wife of a current officer, overhears a conversation that raises doubts whether the death was ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 16, 2024 Frances rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-series

This is a fun, light mystery series set in '60's England. In this outing, the unexpected death of a schoolteacher and her dog, and the discovery of an also unexpected £250,000 in the schoolteacher's savings account sets DI Sloan and his assistant DC Crosby on the hunt. Throw in a very pregnant Mrs Sloan and you get a great slice of both police and maternity ward procedures of the time ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 10, 2018 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018

Beatrice Wansdyke, chemistry mistress at an all girl’s school in Berebury, England, is found dead in her home due to complications from diabetes, from which she had suffered for many years. Her only living relatives were two nephews, one the co-owner of a plastics company and the other a ne’er do well, and a niece who is a nurse. Her death appeared to be from natural causes until the police find that her bank account contained a quarter of a million pounds, recently deposited into her account. I Beatrice Wansdyke, chemistry mistress at an all girl’s school in Berebury, England, is found dead in her home due to complications from diabetes, from which she had suffered for many years. Her only living relatives were two nephews, one the co-owner of a plastics company and the other a ne’er do well, and a niece who is a nurse. Her death appeared to be from natural causes until the police find that her bank account contained a quarter of a million pounds, recently deposited into her account. Inspector CD Sloan has been called upon to investigate, but he has other challenges as well – his wife is expecting their first child at any moment.

Some Die Eloquent is the 8th book in the Inspector CD Sloan series by Catherine Aird. This series is a delightful example of a Britsh police procedural. Sloan is a modest, but effective, police inspector who is hampered in his investigations by his boss, Superintendent Leeyes, and his subordinate, Detective-Constable Crosby. He is a very likable character and both Leeyes and Crosby provide comic relief. The much-maligned Crosby usually unknowingly provides an insight that aids Sloan in finding the culprit, thereby making himself somewhat valuable to the team. Superintendent Leeyes spends his personal time taking classes at the local college and wants to share his knowledge with his subordinates, who usually find ways to avoid him.

I found this book well-plotted and the storyline very interesting. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to say that there was a murder committed, but Sloan first had to prove that it was murder before he could narrow down the murderer from several plausible suspects. Sloan is not afraid to use his intuition and follow hunches, which typically turn out to be correct.

Although this is considered a police procedural and was written in 1979, it has many of the elements found in Golden Age mysteries, and I think fans of the genre would enjoy this book. Some of the book – the portion taking place in the hospital – is a little dated, but not enough to hamper one’s enjoyment. ...more

Like · see review

Feb 12, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, crime-fiction-uk

As this, the 8th installment opens, a schoolteacher has died, apparently of natural causes. So why are the police interested? It turns out that there is something along the order of a small fortune in her bank account that no one can account for. Sloan gets called into the case but is somewhat preoccupied with the imminent birth of his first child.

This one had a much better resolution than the last few; by that I mean that the denouement was not as sudden or abrupt, and you can really follow th ...more

Like · see review